Obi Mobiles to launch its first Windows Phone smartphone in India soon

Former Apple CEO John Sculley's Inflexionpoint-backed Obi Mobiles announced that it will launch a smartphone running Windows Phone out in India next quarter. The brand is set to make a debut next month in the country and will initially be launching five to six handsets in the entry-level segment.

In an interview with the Economic Times, Obi Mobiles CEO Ajay Sharma mentioned that the target for the brand is to achieve a 2 percent market share by the end of the financial year. He also stated that the burgeoning smartphone market in India provided ample room for growth. "By the time we scale up and close the year, we could be even looking at 4% market share."

Although Sharma didn't provide any specifics regarding the Windows Phone device, he said that Obi Mobiles would be focusing on the sub- Rs. 15,000 segment. The brand will be collaborating with Shenzhen-based Dragon Technologies, who will handle device manufacturing. John Sculley announced during the launch of Obi Mobiles that India was the ideal market for the brand, and said that the ability to provide affordable smartphones to customers in emerging markets was going to be the main area of focus.

It should be interesting to see how the brand fares against entrenched vendors like Samsung, Micromax, Nokia, Karbonn Mobiles and Sony, now that more manufacturers have committed to the Windows Phone platform. Micromax is rumored to launch its first Windows Phone handset later this year, while Karbonn Mobiles is allegedly working on a Windows Phone/Android dual-boot smartphone. What do you guys think? Does Obi Mobiles stand a chance against the more established vendors? Sound off in the comments below.